3

"I'd like to become Emilia-tan's knight."

Those were the words that had rung out throughout the dining hall, there was a short silence. It was as if all sound in the room suddenly came to a halt, the light clatters of plates and utensils, the sounds of breathing, everything came to a sudden stop.

It was disorienting. After having become accustomed to constantly having all of his senses at a super-human state, the complete lack of all noise was startling, maybe even frightening to him.

Regardless, Natsuki Subaru raised his determined eyes to look directly into Roswaal's heterochromatic ones which were laced with amusement. But Subaru wouldn't be fooled, his senses picked it up instantly. Subaru had seen Roswaal's eyes widen ever so slightly, in fact it was such a small movement that he was sure if it weren't for him actively looking for a reaction, he wouldn't have noticed it even with his vampiric-senses. It's as if… Roswaal was expecting something else.

Regardless, an observation was made. Roswaal was someone who could hide a reaction and hide it well, and Subaru couldn't help but wonder why he developed such an ability. He was apparently a court-mage for the kingdom… perhaps he was being paranoid. Of course, Roswaal would have to be able to keep a straight face when necessary, someone of his status and all. But even with that logic Subaru's mind still noted his reaction down.

Eventually a smile would appear on Roswaal's face as he nodded slowly, his gloved hand coming up to touch his face thoughtfully.

"If that is what you truly desire, Subaru-kun. Then it can be arra~aaanged… however."

Roswaal's voice came out with the same drawled out and amused tone he had been using from the few interactions Subaru has had with him.

"Emilia-sama is a candidate for the throne, which means that becoming a knight for someone who is such a large target means we need someone capable of fulfilling such a role. You may have saved her life which is why I am willing to consider your request, Natsuki Subaru. But are you someone capable of protecting her? I'd like to test that out."

Roswaal declared, issuing a challenge to Subaru.

There was a moment of silence as Subaru nodded slowly, a test? Did he intend to have him go do something? Or perhaps prove himself in combat? So many questions raced through his mind as Roswaal let the silence capture the atmosphere. A moment passed and Roswaal spoke up once more.

"If you would agree to those terms, and if you pass this evaluation at a satisfactory level. I will allow you to become her honorary knight until we can properly get a ceremony done for you. You'd be recognized as a knight in training by the kingdom normally, but since it is a royal candidate who is allowing you to become their knight, there are certain exceptions that can be made."

Before Subaru could speak up, Roswaal continued.

"You have a sword daaaa~ngling on your hip, the decorations on the scabbard reveals that it is a sword from the Astrea family. It would appear that not only are you someone who was close enough to be gifted such an item, but you have to be someone who knows how to use it to an extent. I do not believe you would be gifted such an item without having some knowledge on wielding it. I'd like to see the full extent of your abilities."

Roswaal had finally finished, allowing Subaru to take a breath in. He looked around the room to see everyone staring at him. Both Emilia and Ram already knew about his desire to become a knight, but it was a shock to the other occupants of the room.

Although Beatrice seemed mostly uninterested.

Subaru's gaze eventually turned back to Roswaal who was still smiling at him, patiently waiting for an answer.

"If it means becoming Emilia's knight, I'll pass any test you throw at me, Ros-chi!"

Subaru smirked and gave Roswaal a thumbs up.

He would not back down from this challenge, no matter what.

Subaru had found himself back in his room, or more specifically on the balcony in his room, taking in the beautiful sight of the setting sun which painted the vast and beautiful land of the Mathers domain. While he enjoyed the sight, his mind was not unoccupied.

Roswaal issued him a challenge which he would undergo first thing after breakfast tomorrow morning. Subaru knew the road ahead would be not an easy path, but for the first time in a long time he wanted to fight and strive until he reached his desired goal. He would not be the same boy who waited until the hand on his clock struck past 8:00 A.M as an excuse not to go to school, or the boy who had pushed everyone around him away whilst trying to become someone amazing like his dad, he wouldn't wallow in misery every day and do nothing anymore.

Subaru suddenly slapped both of his cheeks and let out a shout of triumph, hyping himself up.

"Alright! I'd better go freshen up and head to bed! I have an important day ahead of me! I have to make sure I'm well rested so I can show off to Emilia-tan…"

Subaru drawled that last part out with a goofy smile on his face, as he walked back into his room.

He walked towards the door and grabbed the handle, but as he opened the door to his bedroom and walked out, he did not find the hallway he expected, but rather he found himself back in the library where Beatrice resided.

She was sitting upon her stool, her arms and legs crossed as she looked up at him as if she were expecting him.

"Yo, Beako!"

"You're such an infuriating man, honestly. You suddenly end up somewhere you didn't expect and your first reaction is to greet me like that, I suppose?"

Beatrice's voice came out, her pink eyes and blue butterfly irises focused solely on him.

"Oh?~ You wanted to see me? You know Beatrice you could have just asked me instead of whisking me away from my room you know… sorry but I'm not into grade schoolers, don't get your hopes up." Subaru's teasing voice came out, a smile on his face as he messed around with the young looking girl.

"Don't even joke about something like that, I suppose!"

Subaru just laughed at her expense.

A few moments passed before Subaru recomposed himself as Beatrice grit her teeth and made sounds at him, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes his tone of voice changed as he opened his eyes to look at Beatrice.

"So, you brought me here for a reason, I'm guessing? It would seem unlike you to bring me here just to hang out with you."

"What would you know about me? But you are correct, something has been bothering me from the first time you barged into my library."

Beatrice's face turned into a neutral one as she looked up into his eyes.

"You mentioned that you were cursed, and yet I do not sense the presence of a curse on you. In spite of that I could tell you were not lying. I want you to explain what this 'curse' you speak of is, I suppose."

Subaru's eyes widened slightly before pointing his finger at her slowly.

"You can detect curses?"

"Of course, I suppose. It's trivial for Betty to be able to such a thing, now answer my question. What is this curse you speak of?"

Subaru paused for a moment.

"Do you know what a cursed doll is?" He eventually asked.

Beatrice's eyes lit up with recognition as she nodded her head.

"Of course I do. Are you trying to tell me that you are one? Cursed dolls are a temporary thing, once they finish their job of killing their target they die. Not only that but they end up losing their minds in the process. It would not be possible for you to be one, with how irritating you are it proves to me that you haven't lost your sense of self, I suppose."

Subaru nodded slowly and opened his mouth, bringing up two fingers to it and pulling on it to give Beatrice a full view of his teeth.

Beatrice noticed it prior, but now that she was having a proper look at them she could see a pair of sharp and long fangs on the top row of his teeth, with smaller but still sharp ones pointing upwards from the bottom row of his teeth.

Subaru stopped pulling on his mouth and closed it, looking down at her he spoke up.

"It's true. I don't know why or how, but the woman who cursed me… or rather I should say turned me into one. She didn't seem to be a mindless drone either."

Beatrice raised her gaze back up from his mouth to his eyes, she slowly stood up from the stool she was sitting on and approached him.

"Do you have a thirst for blood, I wonder?"

Subaru gave her a grimace and shook his head.

"I don't think so? I haven't felt the need to drink blood. But… I wonder why these fangs grew in. They have to had to grow in for a reason, right?"

Beatrice's eyes narrowed slightly before they eventually closed as she shook her head and brought her small hand to her forehead, letting out a soft sigh.

"Beako, you look like a granny right now with the way you're letting out such a sigh like that."

"Do you want to die that badly, I suppose?!"

Subaru laughed and held his hands up in surrender at her outburst, her annoyed frustrated look quickly faded as she looked up at him.

"Show me everything you are capable of."

The soft hue of the moonlight lit up the courtyard and surrounding garden, the stars which were so fascinating and foreign to him had such an extraordinary presence in the sky that he couldn't help but get distracted and stare at them. Had they been named yet? Subaru had always loved the stars even as a child, he stared up at the unknown sky with a childish glee. There was a peaceful atmosphere standing here in the night.

"Pay attention and stop dawdling, I suppose. Have you forgotten why I brought you out here?"

Subaru looked down from the night sky and looked towards Beatrice who was standing outside with him in the courtyard, a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the mansion. The vibrant and contrasting colors of her appearance were washed away by the cool tones and hue of the night.

"You look pretty majestic right now, Beako."

"But of course, Betty is a lovely sight – wait don't go changing the subject, I suppose!"

Subaru snickered and nodded at her words.

"I know, I know. You want me to show off the things I can do ever since I got turned into a cursed doll, right? Although I don't understand why you're so interested in this."

"Knowledge. You are the first time I've seen someone who claims to be a cursed doll without dealing with the negative drawbacks. I'd like to evaluate you for my own gain, that is all."

"So it's something like 'It's not like I care about you, I'm doing this for my own personal gain' type of troupe right? Are you the tsundere character of my journey?"

"Are you an idiot, I suppose?"

"Sorry, never mind."

Beatrice looked at him expectantly. Subaru figured she didn't care about his swordplay and was more interested in his abilities as a cursed doll. He slowly crouched down on the ground.

"What are you doing, I supp-"

Subaru kicked off the ground and was hundreds of meters off the ground in the air, he jumped higher than the height of the mansion which was already quite tall. For a moment he hung in the air, from Beatrice's perspective she could see his silhouette directly in front of the moon.

Subaru twisted his body, swinging his legs around to generate momentum to change the direction he was facing. He looked down towards Beatrice as he descended down back to the ground, falling at a fast rate he focused and grasped deep within himself and felt his mana. He guided it throughout his body like a river branching and splitting off into several streams. He could feel the mana strengthen his body and act as a cushion for him as he finally hit the ground, landing on his feet as the ground cracked slightly beneath him.

Beatrice had watched his descent and saw he had a small scowl on his face.

"Ah man! I still didn't cushion my fall enough."

"Did you empower that jump with mana, I wonder?"

Subaru suddenly looked up at her before smiling sheepishly, he forgot for a moment she was there because of his disappointment of still being unable to land gracefully enough without damaging anything.

"I used mana to soften my landing, but as for the jump I did not use any."

"That was force that your body generated by itself? How long ago did you change?"

"If you mean how long it's been since I was bit, it's been a little over a week at this point if I include the days I was knocked out for."

Beatrice merely gazed at him with a neutral look, it would seem she was lost in her own thoughts. Subaru could see the moment her irises focused back up, tilting upwards to meet his own eyes.

"You're capable of generating immense force, the acceleration of your ascent into the sky proves that you are capable in raw power… Your physique is toned but not as bulky as I expected it to be, considering how much force you are capable of generating." Beatrice began her eyes trailing down to his body, and while she was right, he definitely was a bit more ripped, at first appearance he could pass off on the slimmer side.

Beatrice's eyes trailed back up to meet his and continued.

"What else came with this 'curse', I suppose?"

"From what we can tell, some pretty insane regeneration. Although it heals minor stuff ridiculously fast, I don't really want to find out how it would heal… other things."

Subaru recalled his first few loops where Elsa used her blades to cut him open like a fish, he wondered if he would recover from something like that, and if he did would she just cut him open again? He shuddered at the thought.

"My senses are constantly aware of every little thing; it would be safe to say every aspect about me has been improved drastically."

Beatrice turned around and began walking away from him, towards the mansion grounds which caused Subaru to run after her.

"That's all I wanted to know, my curiosity has been sated, I suppose."

"Come on, Beako! You dragged me out here at least enjoy the atmosphere of the night for a few minutes with me?"

Beatrice stopped walking and slowly turned to look back at Subaru with a neutral expression, she gazed at his smile and looked at his fangs once more subtly, something that Subaru still caught on to.

"I won't bite you know."

"Those words don't inspire my confidence at all, I suppose."

Even though Beatrice said that with a scornful tone of voice, she ended up remaining outside with Subaru a bit longer, for what reason she did not understand. Sitting upon the stairs that led to the entrance of the mansion, they gazed up at the moonlit sky as Subaru spoke about the stars, constellations and how he was named after one.

"How cruel of your parents to name you after a twinkling star, I suppose…" she muttered out with a pitying look which made Subaru blush in embarrassment.

"You speak of stars and constellations I've never heard about, and I can barely understand some of the things you say. Are you perhaps from beyond the great waterfall?"

Subaru lowered his gaze from the star filled sky and looked down towards Beatrice who was sitting beside him.

"I guess you could say that, I'm not from around here. I'm from a place called Japan on a planet called Earth."

Beatrice's eyes widened slightly at the reveal.

"I can't detect any lies in your words… so you truly are from another world…"

"If you'd like whenever we're both free… I could come and talk to you about the wonders of my world. I'd say we're hundreds of years more advanced than yours."

Silence filled the atmosphere around them. Beatrice seemed to be thinking about something, almost hesitantly, after a short silence she let out a breath and nodded.

"I'll accept that offer, I suppose. Learning about a whole other world is worth tolerating your insufferable remarks."

Subaru smiled and placed his hand on top of Beatrice's head and ruffled her hair.

"That's the spirit, Beako!"

Subaru quickly got sent flying away by magic for his transgressions against her hair, neither of them noticing the blue-haired maid watching them from afar.

Subaru woke up the next morning with an odd feeling that he could not describe for the life of him, it was as if his body was yearning for something yet he could not describe what it was.

He got up and stretched working out any kinks from the way he slept, he didn't feel sore from being sent flying by Beatrice, his regeneration factor kept him feeling good for the most part.

Subaru went through his daily routine of taking a bath, fixing his hair up and putting on his usual tracksuit which clung a bit more tightly to his form due to his increase in muscle mass.

'I'll have to make adjustments to it later.' Subaru thought to himself as he began making his way towards the dining hall, walking down the long corridors of the mansion.

As he was walking Subaru felt a sense of danger, a feeling that reminded him of Elsa's murderous intentions. Was that… bloodlust? Subaru's head snapped to the side and saw Rem standing there in her maid outfit with a neutral expression on her face, she appeared to have been heading in the same direction as he was.

As quickly as he noticed it, it faded away just as fast.

"Rem! Are you heading down for breakfast as well?" Subaru remarked, he stored the anxious feeling away for later.

Rem realized she was staring at him and turned her gaze to the side, looking down the corridor.

"My sister and I have finished preparing breakfast, I was coming to let you know that it would be served shortly. It seems since you are already here, I have no need to do that." She replied and bowed slightly.

"If you're heading down to the dining hall, want to join me on the way there, Rem?" Subaru offered her.

Rem merely nodded her head and motioned for him to lead the way.

Subaru smiled and continued his walk towards the dining hall, with Rem following closely behind him. He could not see the murderous glare she was sending to the back of his head as they walked together.

'That putrid smell… there's no other explanation. The miasma that clings to his body. He's a filthy cultist who has come to take away yet another home from me. I won't allow it. Last night he demonstrated that he is not weak and helpless like I thought. I'll need to act sooner than I anticipated.'

Those were the thoughts of Rem, who was barely able to restrain herself from striking Subaru down, if not for the warning of her sister not to act irrationally she would have surely pulled out her spiked mace and crushed his skull in by now.

The thought of a cultist infiltrating her home, acting friendly with her sister and the other residents of the mansion made her sick, could they not see his act? He was planning something; did he want to get closer to Emilia because of her resemblance to the witch? He mentioned wanting to become her knight the other day. There had to be ulterior motives, of course there was. That putrid smell, the miasma of the witch that oozed out of him was proof of that.

"-em? I guess you're not much of a talker huh?"

Rem finally snapped out of her thoughts as her eyes refocused, seeing Subaru who tilted her head back at her as they walked, it would seem he was calling her name for a while.

'Don't say my name with such familiarity, you filthy witch cultist.'

"Please forgive me, I was lost in my own thoughts. What were you saying, Subaru-sama?"

Subaru smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"You can just call me Subaru, you know."

Rem shook her head.

"You are a guest of Emilia-sama and Roswaal-sama, and you are also someone who will be undergoing an evaluation for the status of knighthood, it is my duty to refer you with due respect."

Subaru pouted slightly, before giving her a beaming smile. Rem hated seeing him look so happy.

"We're friends, aren't we? You can drop the honorifics, being called that makes me feel nervous. I haven't done anything to deserve that title yet."

Friends? As if she would ever become friends with someone like him.

"Very well, then I'll call you Subaru-kun from now on."

Subaru gave her a thumbs up and looked forward as they finally reached the dining hall, everyone was already seated. Subaru spotted Beatrice at the table again. Subaru could tell Roswaal was surprised and amused at Beatrice's repeated interactions with them all, did she not come and join them often? Subaru vaguely remembered Roswaal commenting on it yesterday.

Subaru decided to give Beatrice a small wave.

Beatrice looked up at him in annoyance but did not outright ignore his gesture, instead giving him a very slight but curt nod in return causing him to smile.

Puck came out from hiding in Emilia's long silver hair and waved at Subaru in greeting.

"You and Betty seem to be getting along, Subaru!"

Beatrice scoffed at Puck's comment as she crossed her arms.

"You've got it all wrong, nii-chan. He simply has some information that has me interested, that is all, I suppose. I tolerate him at best."

Puck let out a sound of wonder as he turned back towards Subaru after looking at Beatrice.

"You must have some amazing knowledge if you have Betty interested! Maybe you can tell me about it later!"

Subaru smiled and gave Puck a thumbs up. "Sounds like a plan."

Subaru's eyes trailed over to the head of the table where Roswaal sat with Ram standing beside him, he locked eyes with Roswaal who continued to stare at him with amusement, his elbows on the table and his fingers interlocked, with his chin resting upon them, his eyes gleaming.

"Good morning, Subaruuuu-kun. I hope you slept well, it would be a shame if you stayed up all night thinking about the test I have in store for you~."

Subaru slowly brought a thumb up and pointed it towards himself, his lips quirking upwards into a smirk as he gazed determinedly at Roswaal.

"Sorry, Ros-chi! But it'll take a lot more than that to scare Natsuki Subaru! I'm ready for whatever you throw at me."

Roswaal's own lips turned into a smirk.

"I'm glad to hear that. After breakfast is served, meet me in the courtyard."

Breakfast had come and gone by.

Standing outside in the same spot that Subaru and Beatrice stood at the prior night, stood Subaru and Roswaal in the daylight. The sun shined bright and warmed up the air around them, a cool breeze occasionally sifted through giving them both a pleasant sensation. Surrounding them were the rest of the residents of the mansion, to the right stood Emilia with a smile on her face, beside her was Beatrice who was holding Puck in her little hands, seemingly more focused on playing with Puck than paying attention to the two of them.

A short distance away stood both Rem and Ram who were watching the two of them, whispering to each other. Subaru could see Ram smirk suddenly as she looked at him which caused him to deadpan knowing she was making fun of him.

Subaru stood in the clearing, across from him was Roswaal dressed in his full attire. It's definitely warm outside and yet Roswaal seemed unbothered by all that extra clothing.

"I don't get how you stand there all dressed up in this heat, Ros-chi. You might get heat-stroke you know." Subaru idly remarked, removing the sweater part of his tracksuit and tying it around his waist, his black shirt underneath now on display. Those watching could see Subaru's toned muscles more clearly now, making him appear less slim than he did with the tracksuit on.

Roswaal chuckled out in response with his usual amused smile the seemed to be constantly on his face.

"The only thing you need to combat the weather is a strong mind, Subaru-kun."

"You say that but you are probably dying to get out of this heat!"

"I haven't the slightest clue what you mean by that, Subaru-kun~."

Subaru deadpanned at Roswaal waving off his accusation, before returning back to his normal stance.

"So, what is the test exactly?"

Roswaal smiled and turned away, looking towards the path that led to the village of Arlam. He began to walk in that direction.

"Walk with me, Natsuki Subaru."

Subaru looked befuddled, with the stand-off they just had it was looking like Roswaal was going to test his strength personally, so the sudden shift in atmosphere caught him off guard. He quickly ran up to Roswaal's side. He could pick up on the sounds of footsteps behind them, he turned back to see the others following them in curiosity, although it would appear that Beatrice was staying behind, he gave her a questioning look but she didn't give any indicator on why she was staying behind at the mansion.

Roswaal's words snapped Subaru's attention back to the road ahead, they were now walking alongside the forest path towards the village.

"There's been an increase in mabeast activity recently in the forest surrounding Arlam. I'd like you to investigate the area and clear out the overpopulation of the beasts."

Emilia's voice suddenly spiked up in concern.

"Roswaal! That's very dangerous, and you want him to do that alone?!"

Subaru turned back to Emilia who was giving Roswaal a stern look, causing him to whisper out her name.

"Emilia-tan…"

Roswaal smiled and kept looking forward, they were now approaching the village of Arlam.

"Is this not an adequate test, Emilia-sama? Subaru wishes to become a knight. He will come across trials like this if he were to accomplish that goal. That is something he will have to accept and learn to deal with if he is truly set on this path."

"Even so!" Emilia's voice came out, but before she could continue Subaru piped up himself.

"It's alright Emilia-tan. Roswaal is right, I'll be put in these types of situations if I do become a knight, running away now would just prove I'm not worthy of such a title, and unworthy of standing by your side."

Subaru's words seemed to calm Emilia down slightly, he turned to look at her with a smile. The truth in his words made sense, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

As they began to enter the village, Emilia suddenly stopped as if she were hesitant to enter. After a moment she decided to turn back, letting them know that she would wait outside for them to return.

Subaru noted this down in his head, he hadn't gotten the chance to ask her about why she was so hesitant about interacting with the villagers, recalling how she also shied away from the windows when they arrived here in the carriage prior.

That's something he would do for sure when he got the chance.

Roswaal ended up going to speak with the village chief letting him know about the situation and how Subaru would be the one dealing with the increased activity from the mabeasts.

Subaru approached the edge of the forest and noticed gemstones, and after a little bit of investigation and asking questions about it to Ram and Rem, he found out that they were a barrier to keep the witch beasts from entering the village.

"Even though I know I'm capable of doing this I can't help but feel a bit nervous…" Subaru's voice trailed out, mumbling to himself.

"Don't waste this opportunity, Barusu. It would look bad upon Roswaal-sama for you to back down now. Reign your cowardice in at once."

Ram's voice startled Subaru, he completely forgot that she was behind him, he whipped around and pointed a finger at her as he exclaimed out an 'eep!' sound.

"Don't go listening onto my inner thoughts, Nee-sama! This is a violation of privacy!"

Ram scoffed and gave him a demeaning smile.

"The only thoughts you probably have are naughty ones, Barusu. It makes sense when you have such lecherous eyes."

"Lecherous eyes?!"

While Ram and Subaru bickered back and forth, with Ram teasing Subaru and Subaru trying his best to deflect her accusations, Rem merely glared at Subaru. Studying his interactions, a frown on her face.

Watching him interact with her sister made her feel sick, an unbridled disgust and rage boiling up inside of her.

Night had fallen upon the kingdom, the surrounding forest is devoid of sound altogether, an eerie atmosphere lingering in the air as not even insects or birds can be heard signaling that there is a reason for it.

Subaru is seen at the entrance of the forest, gazing into it. His amber colored eyes are almost glowing, another symptom of his status as a cursed doll. He can see in the dark almost as well as he can during the day. Subaru is tying his sword around his waist and tightening it, making sure it won't interfere with his movement.

He tilts his head back towards the blue-haired maid who is to watch over him and report if he succeeds or not. She was ordered to not interfere unless absolutely necessary, acting as a judge to report back to Roswaal about his performance.

The others had returned back to the manor a while ago, leaving just him and Rem to spend time together, in the meantime Subaru had been investigating and introducing himself to the local populace.

Those snotty little brats they call kids seemed rather fond of him, while he wouldn't admit it, he liked them as well. Eventually he rounded up all the villagers to do radio calisthenics with him, he tried getting Rem to join but she politely declined.

Snapping back to the current moment, he noticed Rem was looking directly into his eyes and he realized he had been staring at her this whole time as he was recalling his thoughts.

"Ah, sorry, Rem. I got lost in my head there for a second."

"Having second thoughts about this?"

Subaru gave her a smirk and shook his head.

"I wouldn't say that, was just reminiscing about earlier. I'm more ready than ever. I'm going to head in now."

Rem nodded at his words.

"Very well, I'll be trailing you and will evaluate your performance."

"Isn't it dangerous for you? I don't know if I'll be able to keep any of these wolgarms off of you."

In his investigations he learned that the primary type of mabeasts in this area were wolgarms which were essentially the dogs of the witch beasts. They typically hunted in packs and had colonies.

Hearing a sudden jingle, Subaru looked back at Rem to see her holding a morningstar with a chain attached to it.

"I'll be ready if that were to happen, do not worry about me just focus on this evaluation."

Subaru slowly nodded and turned towards the forest, before stepping foot in and passing the barrier.

For a few minutes Subaru walked in silence with Rem in tow, his glowing eyes taking in all the information, every slight movement of the wind causing the leaves in the trees to flutter, every sound his ears would pick up on.

Subaru suddenly heard something to his right, instantly drawing his sword and looking into that direction. Under the cover of a nearby bush he saw a wolgarm, stalking him with its beady red eyes.

If he were an average person the wolgarm would have been smart hiding in the darkness like that, but thanks to Subaru's enhanced senses he could see it clear as day.

Rem also stopped a distance away and watched Subaru, unbeknownst to him her grip on her morningstar increased, glaring at him but also not acting, merely watching. She was here not to just evaluate his performance, but to see his true intentions.

All was silent for a moment, Subaru stared the wolgarm directly in its eyes, it seemed to have caught on that it's cover was blown, it growled and drool dripped from its canines.

Subaru smirked at it and bared his own fangs at it, although not drooling all over the place.

"You're not the only one with some messed up teeth, come on don't tell me you're scared?"

It's not like the wolgarm could understand him, but his taunt worked regardless as it came sprinting out towards him, zigzagging all over the place before leaping at him, it's mouth wide open going in for a bite.

'It's so slow.' Subaru thought to himself in mild surprise, he had been training with Reinhard during his stay with him and the speed and force Reinhard used was infinitely greater than what this mabeasts was capable of.

Subaru's eyes tracked the canine perfectly, it was as if it was moving in slow motion. Subaru stepped to the side and as the wolgarm was in striking range, Subaru swung his sword at it, bisecting it in half from the shoulder all the way down to its hind legs diagonally, it split in two and died letting out a whimper.

Subaru swung his sword another time to get rid of the blood staining it, and continued forward.

"That was too easy… all that training really paid off, huh?"

Subaru continued his walk into the forest, he could feel the presence of more and more mabeasts approaching his location, the sounds of bushes and sticks cracking and rustling were a tell-tale sign, not only that but he could basically feel their bloodlust in the air, it was as if they were attracted to his presence.

Subaru finally made it into a clearing and found him surrounded by dozens of the beasts, all snarling and baring their teeth at him, his eyes widened at the numbers and realized this might be more trouble than it's worth. They're relatively weak but the amount of them… it would be difficult to ward off countless attacks from every angle, especially if they were smart enough to co-ordinate attacks as a pack.

Subaru breathed in and applied pressure to the ground beneath him causing it to crack slightly beneath his feet, he closed his eyes as if to ready himself.

The first few wolgarms dashed towards him.

Snapping his eyes open he pushed off the ground at high speeds, meeting the first one head on, it jumped at him but Subaru swung his sword in a downward arc towards it, cutting it in half. Another wolgarm leapt at him from the side trying to catch him off guard, causing Subaru to slam his foot onto the ground to halt his forward momentum suddenly, causing his body to lean forward, bringing his leg up and spinning he channeled that existing momentum and kicked the dog in the head with so much force its head came clean off.

Another one tried to leap towards his chest, Subaru swung his sword in a backhand motion slicing deeply into its upper calves, causing it to stumble to the side. Subaru quickly stabbed his sword down into its head to finish it off.

Coming from the left, a wolgarm was charging towards him, his sword was still pinned into the corpse, so he let go of it. He raised his left hand up to grab onto the wolgarm by the throat as it jumped at him, and using his now free right hand he punched it into the ground causing it to splatter into gore and guts, his fist cracking the ground beneath him.

He quickly picked his sword back up as the rest of the pack began to charge him in waves, his eyes caught onto the fact that none of them were charging at Rem who was watching idly in the distance, they all were focused on him for some reason.

He didn't have time to ponder the meaning behind it. There was too many of them so he decided to improvise.

Subaru leapt into the air at the last second as the pack of mabeasts jumped at him, peaking at around 20m. The wolgarms crashed into each other causing them to become disoriented.

Subaru channeled his mana into his sword causing a crystallized sheen to form around it, he had an idea. As he began to descend, he focused his mana into the tip of the sword causing it to glow. He swung it down towards the group of wolgarms beneath him.

Pink and purple shimmering crystal shot out of the tip of the sword, hitting dozens of the wolgarms, they all let out yelps of pain as the crystals began to spread throughout their bodies, crystallizing them instantly. As Subaru landed the crystallized dogs all shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Subaru stood back up and looked around him, for a moment he was silent and Rem looked at him with surprise on her face.

"HOLY SHIT DID YOU SEE THAT?! I didn't think that would work! That was cool as hell!" Subaru suddenly exclaimed, stars in his eyes at the feat he had just accomplished.

Rem's eyes hardened at his excitement, he was quick thinking and clearly had power that he was adequate at using. The way he swung his sword while not perfect was passing enough, and what he didn't have in skill he made up with raw power.

Which meant… he was a threat to the safety of everyone around him. There was no doubt in her mind. The miasma that lingered on his form, the way the mabeasts flocked to him. He had to be a witch cultist.

She was the judge, jury, and she would be his executioner.

The sound of air whistling and the jingle of a chain caught Subaru's attention, he looked up and saw Rem's morningstar coming flying at him. It was close, far too close.

Subaru leapt to the side but he couldn't avoid the attack completely, he felt hot pain in his arm as he landed on the ground, he avoided the attack from hitting him in his chest… but.

He looked down and saw that his left arm was completely gone. Only blood spurting out from the stump that was almost at his shoulder level.

Subaru gasped for breath as he stumbled back on the ground, clutching his bleeding stump of an arm. He had felt pain like this before, when Elsa cut his guts out, - it was like a thousand knives were slicing through his flesh. And the worst part was that it was Rem who had done this to him.

Subaru's body convulsed with agony, his voice erupting in a primal scream that echoed through the forest. It was a guttural sound, filled with raw pain and despair, the kind of scream that comes from the very depths of a person's soul.

Subaru's frantic eyes looked up at Rem's angry ones, his body was surging with adrenaline and he could only scream out in confusion at her.

"What the fuck Rem?! Why did you attack me, ah – fuck… my arm!"

Subaru managed to rise to his feet, words could not describe what he was feeling right now, not just the physical pain but emotional pain as well. He had thought Rem and him were getting along the past few days, so why did she attack him? Why did she betray the trust he had in her?

"Don't talk to me as if you have the right, you damned witch cultist! Do you know what it was like watching you interact with my home, my sister? Do you?!" Rem's harsh voice screamed out in rage at him which caused him to stumble back slightly from the sheer emotion coming off of her.

Subaru's shock quickly wore off as he wanted to shout back at her with his own anger, but instead he looked back towards what was left of his arm, he could feel something, almost unpleasant. A tingling sensation, warmth spreading throughout his body. And then he noticed it.

Right before his eyes he watched as the severed bone in his arm grew, extending from his stump. It extended and separated after forming a joint in what would be his elbow, his radius and ulna reformed. The bones kept extending until it completely recreated the skeleton of his forearm. He watched as the bones that made up his hands and fingers regrew right before his eyes.

And then he felt it, the muscle fibers from the stump of his arm began to reform new sinew. Tendons reformed as his muscle fibers regrew and twisted up his arm, skin beginning to cover it.

It felt like an eternity to him, but in just a few agonizing seconds his arm had completely regrown.

At first glance it would be like he didn't even lose his arm in the first place, but the ripped sleeve of his tracksuit showed otherwise.

His breath came out in labored gasps as he stared with wide eyes at his arm, he flexed his fingers hesitantly. It genuinely was as if he never lost his arm in the first place.

He didn't have much time to admire it though, as he heard the telltale signs of the morningstar flying through the air, this time he was more prepared, he rolled to the side and grabbed his sword which he had dropped on the ground in shock from the initial attack. He landed in a crouched position and looked up to see the morningstar once again coming at him from the side. He leapt into the air over it, his newly reformed hand grabbing onto the chain that was connected to the head, he landed on the ground and held on tight.

Rem tried to rip her weapon out of his grasp but he held it firmly unmoving.

"Witch cultist? I don't even know what the fuck that is!"

Rem's iris and pupil shrunk in anger as she let out a visceral scream, a blue glow began to emanate from her forehead as he could see crystals made of ice forming around her, with a heavy increase in strength she pulled back the chain causing Subaru to fly towards her.

"Don't try and play dumb with me! The scent of the witch that clings to you heavily would say otherwise, you dirty cultist!"

Rem swings her fist outwards as Subaru came colliding into it. Hitting him directly in his solar plexus, the force of Rem's punch sends him rocketing away, blood and spit flying out of his mouth as he lets out a scream of pain, he crashes through several trees before finally crashing into a boulder, cracking it.

His head cracks open as blood rushes down his face, covering his left eye and painting the sclera in his eye red, half of his vision is completely shrouded in red as the blood covers it.

He coughs up blood as he regains his breath, he can feel the crack in his head healing slowly, he looks down feeling a wince of pain and sees a branch of a tree stuck in his abdomen, piercing deeply into his guts, he lets out an agonizing yell of pain.

His ears pick up on fast approaching footsteps in the distance, she's coming for him. Tears stream down his eyes at the pain and feelings of betrayal, but the look in his eyes is filled with so much scorn, so much anger, it was as if he was drowning in it.

Subaru grits his teeth and with a cry of pain rips out the branch from his abdomen, he tries to get up but falls down to a knee. The wound in his stomach begins to slowly close, and with a fizzle of steam the wound seals. It was slower than when his arm regenerated, he assumed that regenerating a whole limb took a toll on his newly realized regeneration factor. It had taken several seconds for the wound on his stomach to finally close.

Getting up off his one knee and standing ragged, Subaru glared up in front of him. Rem had shot through the clearing of the knocked over and broken trees and was standing there with her eyes almost glowing blue, a manic smile on her face… and a glowing blue horn sprouting from her forehead, magical energy swirling around her like a force of nature.

"Found you, you filthy cultist." Her voice come out in a sickeningly sweet tone as if she was greatly enjoying this, a low growl lacing her words, he could feel the animosity in it.

Subaru winced and got back up, he had held onto his sword even with the blow he withstood, but his ability with the sword would not help him here. He hadn't had enough time to practice with it, and against someone of this caliber it would be more harm than good to use.

"I told you already! I'm not a cultist, I haven't even heard of this cult before?! Are you really that blind?!"

Subaru shouted out in anger, wiping the blood that was trailing into his eyes. It might have been an illusion but if you were to look closely you could see a red glint in Subaru's amber eyes, the pain and anger in his eyes making his already mean looking eyes look downright terrifying.

But Rem was in a frenzied state, and she didn't even register the look as something to be afraid of. Her horn had sprouted and was twisting her already angry mind, the only thing on her mind was destroying the being in front of her.

Rem did not give him a response as she launched herself towards him, magical energy forming into ice crystals that shot at and around him to limit his movement.

Subaru grit his teeth and generated force into his legs, rocketing at her at his highest possible speed.

Rem even in her wild state had her eyes widen as Subaru rocketed towards her faster than she could react, she swung her morning star down hoping to hit him.

Her morningstar struck true and hit him in the shoulder, lacerating it, but Subaru's momentum did not stop, he grit his teeth in anger as he pushed through the pain, swinging his arm towards her and punching her with as much force as he could muster in the stomach, causing her to let out a yell of pain, she rocketed dozens of meters away from him, eventually shooting off a nearby small cliff.

Subaru once again fell to a knee and made a pained sound as he grabbed onto his shoulder, he raised his hand up to his eyes and saw his hand completely coated in blood. He could feel the damage healing even slower than before. The blood loss from losing his arm and his body working overtime to repair the damage was making him dizzy making it hard for him to think straight.

As Subaru stared at his bloodied hand in a daze, he felt that same yearning that he had felt when he woken up this morning.

He forced himself up and began to move towards the area where he had sent Rem flying.

As he slowly moved his ears picked up on a growl coming from his side, he turned his head as a wolgarm launched itself at him, mouth wide open as its fangs clamped down heavily onto his forearm which he had barely raised in time.

He let out a pained yelp as he raised his arm up into the air and slammed it down into the ground, causing the wolgarm to lose the grip on his now bleeding arm, Subaru raised his hand up once more and slammed it down onto the wolgarm, crushing its head.

But his frustration only grew as he continued over and over to slam his fist into the wolgarms already crushed head. With each blow he let out a frustrated growl which eventually turned into a pained sob.

His arm was barely healing at this moment and for the first time Subaru felt a thirst.

It was a driving force which consumed every thought he had, something in his head was screaming at him, if he were to quench that thirst, his body would be able to keep going, to heal and become stronger than the pitiful state he was in now.

Subaru managed to stumble up to his feet, and began limping over to the cliff side where Rem had fallen off of. His limping slowly corrected itself as his steps grew in pace, becoming more frantic before he was full on sprinting towards the cliff.

His hazy mind was in overdrive, his body subconsciously reinforced his body with mana to make up for the lack of strength he had in him, and he leapt off the cliff.

He could see Rem at the bottom of it, slowly getting up, looking worse for wear. She had several bad cuts along her arms, and blood was trailing down her lips. Her horn was still shining bright, but the thing that caught his eyes was the blood trailing down her lips and onto her neck.

Subaru could feel his own heartbeat skyrocket as he finally touched down upon the ground, with none of the grace he had worked to obtain as he fell to a knee. His breathing had become ragged as he stumbled back up to his feet and began approaching her.

Rem could not think straight much either, she snarled at him and began to walk towards his direction, she gripped onto her weapon tightly as more crystals formed in the air above her.

One of them shot towards Subaru, who in his state could not avoid it.

It hit him in his thigh, piercing it deeply to the bone. It caused him to stumble onto one knee, but even so he got back up and continued to walk towards her, a red glint in his teary dazed eyes, his breathing had become heavy as he breathed primarily from his mouth, which was opened wide with his fangs out, bared.

Another crystal shot towards him hitting him in his right shoulder, but even so he pressed forward.

Rem was now within striking distance, she swung her arm wildly at him letting out a wail of anger, her blue eyes were filled with the manic rage and lack of awareness that came from being in her oni-state.

Her strike hit Subaru, but he didn't budge. His hand grabbed onto her arm and with the remaining strength he had left, he pulled onto her, jerking her close.

In a swift movement Subaru's mouth opened wide as Rem crashed into his chest. One of his hands snaked up to her head and tilted it to the side revealing her neck to him, and the other which had grasped onto her wrist clenched it painfully tight to keep her from escaping.

Acting on instinct alone, Subaru's fangs came down and latched onto Rem's neck.

Her whole body froze up, she tried pulling away but the grip on her arm would not budge. She could feel him feeding on her blood, the liquid that fueled her life. As if drinking her very life force itself, she could feel her strength being sapped away as her resistance became weaker and weaker.

Subaru's dazed eyes and dizziness began to fade away, the wounds he had sustained in the process of getting here began to close at an accelerated pace, he could feel his exhaustion fading, his strength was coming back.

Rem's horn retracted back into her forehead, the blue glow which resonated in her eyes faded away as the strength she had was sapped away, and with it her rational thought made a return.

Subaru's eyes widened as his own ability to think returned to him, and he suddenly let go of her. His mouth moving away from her neck as he realized what he was doing. He stumbled back away from her, as Rem fell to a knee.

Rem's hate-filled eyes looked at him, even with her rational thought back she believed him to be a cultist. But as her eyes landed on his face, for a moment she felt hesitation.

Subaru was glaring at her, with tear filled eyes. Betrayal on his face and disgust at what he had just done, but even the disgusting feeling of sucking blood, the realization that he might be a monster could not outweigh the anger, the betrayal in his heart and it showed. She could see his fangs coated with blood, her blood, it trailed down his lips adding more to the look on his face.

The pain in his eyes is what kept her frozen.

Vocalizing all his rampant thoughts, all the emotions of betrayal and anger into a single word caused Rem to flinch.

"Why?!"

And in that moment, Rem did not have an answer to give him.